Ah, but what does "underrated" mean? Well, it means Matt Schaub, Wali Lundy, Chris Canty, Darryl Blackstock
and Ahmad Brooks are ineligible right off the bat. Probably Elton Brown, Almondo Curry, Heath Miller and D’Brickashaw
Ferguson, too. Basically "underrated" is an odd combination of contributing a lot to the team and not really
getting much recognition for it. So you can’t be a star and you can’t be a scrub. Gotta be somewhere in between.
Oh, and in case you’re confused by "Virginia football players," I’m talking about the 2003 team only.
Honorable mention: DE Brennan Schmidt, RB Marquis Weeks, C Zac Yarbrough, LG Brian Barthelmes.
5. TB Alvin Pearman
Career ledger: 895 rushing yards, 491 receiving yards and 532 return yards in 24 games.
It’s tough to become underrated after you lead the team in rushing as a freshman, but hey, that’s how Pearman’s
career has gone. Lundy, a bigger tailback with perhaps a bit more natural talent, showed up last year and dashed Pearman’s
chance to be a feature back. But Alvin doesn’t seem to care whether he gets the glory of playing tailback. Last season
he played through a handful of injuries, including a broken hand. He even tried to play after wrecking his knee against
Penn State, an injury that knocked him out of the final four games.
4. FB Kase Luzar
Career ledger: 20 receptions for 143 yards and 1 touchdown in 40 games.
Yeah, he doesn’t really do anything offensively, except that "blocking" thing, without which the defense
just pours in and crushes your quarterback and/or tailback before they can take a step. So yes, Kase is awfully
important. He’s got some ball skills, like his older brother, but in this offense, with these skill players, he is
usually needed to block. That’s what he does. He doesn’t get noticed too often. But he’s out there before every
game, running sprints in a t-shirt and shorts before most of the rest of his teammates have left the locker room.
3. WR Ottowa Anderson
Career ledger: 33 receptions for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns in 28 games.
I find it difficult to consider Ottowa Anderson without my mind wandering to the idle question of how he gets his
helmet over all those dreadlocks. I mean, does he just wear one three sizes too big? One of these days, I’ll ask him.
But getting back on message, let me point out that Anderson is Virginia’s most experienced, most versatile and
(maybe) toughest wideout. And this quote is just about the epitome of "underrated":
"I take pride in my blocking," he said. "When you spring running backs for good runs, that counts on
you just as much as the running back, as much as the o-line. A lot of times it goes unnoticed, but everybody around here
notices, and that’s fine with me."
2. NT Andrew Hoffman
Career ledger: 850-plus plays, 74 tackles, 5 QB hurries, 4 passes broken up in 24 games.
Environmental sciences major, wearer of eyeglasses, all-around decent guy, Hoffman is a rugged beast at the
"nose," shall we say, of the Cavalier defense. He’s the man who makes it go, the man who holds the middle of
the line so the inside linebackers can dart through and make tackles. He’s pretty much an ideal guy for the position,
Groh says, because of his toughness and his enthusiasm for the job. Not every big, strong football player wants to muck
it up at the nose, but Hoffman loves it.
1. ILB Rich Bedesem
Career ledger: 700-plus plays, 109 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 4 QB hurries in 28 games.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Ahmad Brooks this. Kai Parham that. Well pardner, check out the best inside linebacker Virginia’s
got right now. Bedesem doesn’t get the pub because he’s stuck between the Angelo Crowell era and the
Brooks-and-Parham era. He’s not a lively locker room presence like Blackstock or Canty or Muffin Curry. But he’s a
coach’s son and a coach’s grandson, and he knows how to play football. Ask Parham, the wunderkind, the strongest
player on the team. He’s been trying for months now to take Bedesem’s starting spot. Hasn’t done it yet. It might
take a while. Bedesem’s the ILB of the present.
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